Impboved



' v@uiten gieten geteld @ffice Letters Patent No. 76,0%, flat-ed March 31,l 1868.

turnover) Areticsrion or An minnesota To A. LAST.

llgt Srlgrhnledurch tu in tigres lrttcts prima@ making wat uf tige sami.

TO vALL PERSONS T0 WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME:

Be it known that I, CHARLES -BUFFUM, of Lynn, in the county ot EsscxLand State of Massachusetts, have made a new and useful'invention having reference .to the Application of an Inner Sole to a Last; and I do herebydeclare the same to be fully described in the following specification, and represented in-the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l'is an under side view, and

vFigure 2 a longitudinal sectionof'a last having an inner sole and my invention applied to it.

The purpose of my invention is to enable a person to readily'eiect the ccntralizing of the insole with respect to the sole of the last, that is, so as to bring the periphery of the insole into parallelism with that ofthe solo of the last, such being designed especially for facilitating the carrying out of the invention for which Letters Patent, No. 46,299, were granted, February 7, 1855, to Joseph B. Johnson'and myself.

My invention consists in the combination of sole-centralizing mechanism or devices with the last.

I am aware that preparatory `to-lasting an upper of a shoe, it is common to fasten the insole to the last, by means of nails or tacks driven through the sole and into the bottom of the last. This, however, requires the sole to be rst carefully centralized on the last by the eye of Aa workman. My invention not only eli'ects this centralization of the sole, but its necessary ixation to the last, withlittlo or no particular care on the part ot' the operative. i

Each of the soles', preparatory to being applied to the last, is to have three' or any other suitable number of holes made through it in its medial line, running longitudinally through it, the distances of the holes apart corresponding to the distances apart of the metallic sockets of the last, so that when the solo is applied to the bottom of the last, fastening-pins inserted in the holes of the sole may also he made to enter the sockets.

These sockets are shown at a'b c, in figs. l and 2, as 'made through metallic plates A B C, inserted in or fixed to tlie'bottom of the last. I sometimes make the last with a metallic plate to cover its entire bottom, in

which case the socket-holes would extend through it. Withinthe last, and below either plate, there may be a spring, I) or D', which may be a disk of India rubber, perforated atpits centre, as shown at o, o1--it may he a jawed-springformed of metal, as shown at D. The pins to go through the soleantl into the sockets and springs are shown at E E', each consistingof a pointedshank, d, and a head, e, arranged as represented. Where the shank is to he'grasped by the spring,vit is groove'd as shown at f, the groove going entirely around thc shank. The spring, hy grasping the shank at its groove, holds the pin in place in-.its socketl with due tenacity.

Instead ofthe spring and grlroove', the pin may have a male screw cnt on it to enter and screw into a corresponding female screw cutiinatheisocket-plate, such being as shown with respect to the plate C, and its pin.

Prior to the application ot` the sole to the last, the pins g g g are to be inserted through it, the purpose of such pins being represented inthe'patent'aforesaid.

I also x on the toe part of the sole of the last a plate, I1, furnished with a series of holes or sockets, and having a disk or plate of India rubber, 7c, arranged underneath it. This plate, with its rubber plate, is for securinul the two arts of the u er to an insole after the said toe aartma have been turned down u o'n the a P PP l .Y P

insole, and preparatory to the connection of 'the upper to the pins, and the drawing it upon the sole and last, by a lacing-thread, in manner as represented in the aforesaid patent. Such fastening-of the toe part of the upper down is accomplished by a pin like the pin E, although havin-gnI shorter shank,

By the use of pins, sockets, and nails,'as above, we can last a shoe to be made on the McKay sewingmachine, so as to leave no insole at all, or we can leave a thin sole of leather, paper, or other material, and can sew outside the insole, or through it in the ordinary way, or we can have one, two, three, or any required number of outer soles, and this with a very small margin of upper, no lasting-tacks being required, and the mode of lasting being cheaper than in any other way heretofore adopted.

The advantages to he derivedfrom the invention are, that it will reduce the cost of shoes made on the McKay sewing-machine, by enabling the manufacturers to use a smaller upper, and to employ girls more extensively as lasters. It will also multiply the production of the McKay sewingmachine, because it perfecte a process for lasting shoes, by which a shoe can he made in the machine without an inner sole, or with one of little cost, both of which willbe great gain, as the lighter the insole, the stronger and more durable will be the sew1ng. l y

The general intention of my invention or improvement is to perfect the process for lasting a shoe by thread, as described in the aforesaid patent, by still further cheapening and simplifying it, and by attaining4 absolute accuracy in layingl on the outer sole, preparatory to sewin ity to the upper. By attaching the sole to the'last by -the pins E El, instead ofthe common way, viz`, by tack, We secure mathematical certainty of having the insole, the outer sole, the upper, and the last, always in right positions, and in due relation to each other, whereas, heretofore, such has been dependen t on the skill and care ofthe laste-r. Anotherrery great advantage is, that We do away entirely with the use of lasting-tacks, the employment of which is la trouble and-an annoyance to the public, now complained of more than ever before, the disuse ofiwhich has been earnestly sought for, thus far in vain. It also, n'connection with the patent alluded to above, furnishes the mean-s of making, by the McKay machine, the n'est of' ladies kid single-soled slippers, or the cheapest single-soled shoe non' made hy hand.

I claim, in combination with a lust, devices substantially as deseribed,lor theirequivalents, for centraliz'ing and holding a sole to-the last, the same consisting ofthe sockets and their springs, and the pins therefor.

I also claim the arrangement of the holding-socket and its spring, at the toeot` the bottom of a last, so as to enable a person, by means of a pin, as described, to secure the upper of a shoe to an insole by passing the 'p'n through the upper and into the socket and spring., as set forth.

I also claim the mechanism or combination for holding the sole to the last, such consisting of the grooved and headed pin, the socketed plate, and the plate of rubber or the jawed spring, the wholebeing substantially las set forth.

CHARLES BUFFUBI. 

